Old Domestic treadle

Hi Billy! I'm so glad you are here to answer questions--'cause I certainly have one! I have a wonderful old (cc1876) Domestic treadle machine that runs like a swiss watch. Somehow, the needle was broken. I know that it requires a needle model/size GG but I have been unable to find anyone who might have this old needle. I am heart broken. Modern needles, of course, won't fit. What to do, what to do?

Hi everyone, just got back yesterday from camping and fishing. Had a great time but boy was it hot 100+ and then went to Vicksburg to tour the National Battlefield Park and it was 105 for the three days we were there. So hot the fish did not bite and really to hot for me to fish for long periods of time. I did show my quilt at the family gathering in Meridian MS and they loved it. They tried to take it away from me. I told them about all of you and how nice you were to make this quilt for me. Yes I told them about each block and who did them and how Nancy collected them and put the quilt together. They were amazed. We did go antiqueing in Meridian and Vicksburg. Found an old Franklin treadle rotary with bobbin and thread in the machine but the bobbin slide plate is missing. I thought I would use this head to show you how I clean machines from begining to end and repair missing japan on the machine, restoring clear coat on the japan and such. The decals are not good so a good machine to show you guys on. This machine does work but need to find a slide plate when we are done cleaning. This one should be fun. I really enjoyed the pics on the fishy quilt thread and seeing the machines used. When I get settled I will post pics of the quilt in the camper and a pic of a quilt make by slaves in the 1830. I will try to get them all downloaded into this PC today or tomorrow so I can post some of them. I see Charlee and Miriam were good girls while I was gone.

The word you need to use to describe your Leader is "petite". Looks a lot like my Minnesota ~B~ when set along side a larger machine.

For your treadle base problems, get some oil and oil every thing that moves or pivots. Then check the adjustment of the pivots and axles. They might be gummed up with old oil or grease, or someone could have tightened them too much.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the desire of certain vintage machines is similar.

Some would die for one of those big ugly beasts, the 31. While others would argue that the machine to own is the cute FWs. Some only look at Singers, while others covet the Lady Kenmores or the Necchi. When it comes down to what is best, it really is what makes one happy. And in the end, we are just the steward of what is now mechanic art.

yes the unseen beauty........

would any of you buy this machine ? better yet would you buy it sight unseen ? topped off with the reason you were there was buying 1922 machine from his renter that didn't look much better for $100

which went from my pocket to her hand as soon as my car door opened..

I ask because of reading so much of " it ain't worth it and this I wouldn't buy any machine with rust on it ". get real real you have rust and scars. most of us are only half there age..

when we dug it out all the veneer and wood scroll work was laying on the floor ,, so I did get all those pieces
,, I did pay for this, yet to me it was free or you might say the icing of the cake for that day ...

If I were to do a public display of all my treadles, I would leave this one as is, to show what they were and what thay can be

It will get refinished, I know it will take 7 days a week and no less than two weeks to reglue the entire cabinet..

my main cleaning agent will be a grease, that you can't not buy. with a little help from dewalt and Dow chemcail.

I deal with antigue/vintage cars,, the term barn find equals = gold, this is a true barn find... i wish I would have taken a camera, to show where it sat for the known 30 yrs he told me of.. I'm sure the tractor sitting there had not moved in the last 50 , there was two of those,,,

O this is a 6 drawer. with the solid ends covered with the wooden scroll work

this singer I posted is totaly coming apart , all the ply has come unglued and has mold between the layers,, it will have to be, soaked it water to unglue what is still sticking clean then reglued.. The broken veneer will be put back in place,, I do not place any veneer on these machines...

This is the condition of teh machine we used to get free back in the late 60's , most were just left behind as people moved from the farm to the city's..

John, considering that an appraiser will tell you that a pristine sewing machine in a good condition "standard" cabinet is worth $150 - $200....I'd have given MAYBE $15 for that one. (If I'd have bothered with it at all)
Rust and dings may be a way of life, Lord knows I have my share, but I also know I'm not worth as much as I used to be!
Too many of us don't have the time or space to store/repair/refinish these old machines. I have a two bedroom apartment, and the refinishing I do gets done on my dining room table.

We've seen some beauties come from under the rust and grime, not all of us want to deal with that...and it certainly devalues the machine, as they're never as pretty as those that have been cared for.

I had read the various discussions about the lovely Lavender Lady Kenmore 89, and began a search for one a little while back. I am always on the lookout for any machine, and sometimes special ones; i.e. I saw the post on the yellow brother at girls' night in, and immediately started searching. Miriam found it for me, and it is great. I saw an ad for a Kenmore sewing machine for $50, and lo and behold, it was the Lavender one, and came down to $40. I consulted a couple of board enablers, I mean members, who told me what to check for, and I had to buy it. Pretty little lady that sews like a charm. It had a lot of extra feet but it did not have a manual, so if anyone has a link to a free one, please share. I can see the fascination now.